LAKE FOREST — The Chicago Bears’ defense has been very good so far, bordering on great.

“Outstanding,” is how Bears head coach Lovie Smith described the play of his defense up through last weekend’s 23-6 win over St. Louis.

Not only are the Bears sixth in the league in total defense (279.0 yards allowed) and fifth in scoring at 16.7 points per game allowed, but they’ve been good to great in every facet of the game. They have allowed 203.0 passing yards per game and 76.0 rushing, both good enough for sixth in the NFL.

And to top it all off, they have the most sacks in the league (14), the second-most interceptions (six) and the third-most forced fumbles (four).

Can it, and will it, sustain the greatness for a complete season? That’s a question even those who have had the hottest starts of all can’t answer.

“That’s the idea, but nobody really knows,” said Jennings, who has four interceptions and two tipped balls that turned into interceptions. His efforts have earned him the nickname “Hawk” by his coaches and teammates. “Guys are coming out there early on the practice field, staying late, watching film and it’s paying off. We just have to keep it going. Like I said, I’m a living testimony that hard work pays off and I just want to keep it going.”

The Bears’ defense has had stretches of greatness even last year. When it allowed the fifth-most passing yards (4,065) in the league, it still held three straight opponents to two or fewer touchdowns in one clip and stifled the run in another stretch, holding seven out of their last eight opponents under 100 yards on the ground.

But it didn’t happen consistently enough; at least not consistently enough for a team to win primarily because of its defense. Team leader Julius Peppers believes it can this time around.

“A lot of guys have improved over the offseason. Guys got in better shape in a lot of ways,” Peppers said. “Everybody is rushing a little bit better, and the results are showing in the stat sheets, finally.”

What has also helped are the contributions of rookie Shea McClellin and second-year power-lineman Stephen Paea, along with Major Wright and Jennings in the defensive backfield.

Next is the big stage of Monday Night Football, where they travel to Dallas. The Cowboys are second-to-last in the league in scoring at 15.7 points-per-game, while averaging 76.7 rushing yards per game (29th) and minus-three in turnover ratio (24th).

On the other hand, Dallas’ defense is tops in the league giving up just 250 yards per game.

“It’s another challenge that we have to come up and rise to the occasion to get to our ultimate goal, which is to win a championship,” Jennings said. “We have to take the next step, and Dallas is the next step. We’re going to approach it like any other week and go in there with the mindset that we have to win the game, it’s a must-win.”